Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Central Asia: The stage is set for two of the most influential world leaders to meet as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to have a bilateral dialogue in Uzbekistan on the backdrop of a Summit which would present an “alternative” to the Western world.

This would be the first overseas trip by Mr. Xi since the start of the pandemic.

Mr. Putin will also meet the leaders of India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran but, the meeting with Chinese leader is “of particular significance,” Kremlin foreign policy spokesman Yuri Mr. Ushakov observed.

The spokesman shared that the summit is being held in the context of large-scale political changes.

China has avoided violating sanctions, but its purchases of Russian oil and gas rose 60 percent to $11.2 billion in August from a year earlier. It helps boost Moscow’s cash flow after United States, Europe and Japan cut purchases and kicked Russia out of the global banking system.

RARE OUTING

Mr. Putin’s meeting with Turkish and Iranian leaders in Tehran in July was only the second foreign trip since Russian troops invaded Ukraine. This is the second meeting between the two leaders this year with the last time both met being at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.  China watchers remark that Mr. Xi’s decision to leave China after more than two years, despite significant domestic challenges, crippling lockdowns and a faltering economy, show his confidence in his leadership.

Analysts expect him to be re-elected to an unprecedented third term at the Chinese Communist Party Congress.

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